Police seek tips, release details in Gladstone infant's death

Clackamas Countys Major Crimes Team on Monday identified Dylan Michael Nelson as the father of a 5-month-old boy whose frozen body was found in a Clackamas County wooded area.

Officials investigating the reported murder of the infant in Gladstone are now looking for anyone who was in Milo McIver Park between 11:15 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Dec. 7 or anyone who may have had contact with Nelson, 20, since that time.

The body of Rowdy Sterling-Michael Nelson was found after his 19-year-old mother told police she and Nelson left the boy near the stump of a tree off a trail in Milo McIver Park in Estacada. His frozen body was discovered around 2 a.m. Dec. 10, and investigators have up to Dec. 23 withheld the location, citing a need to protect the investigation.

Saying the mother remains cooperative with the investigation and is not considered a suspect, officials believe the infant died at the Budget Inn on McLoughlin Boulevard in Gladstone. On their way to the Roadway Inn in Salem, Nelson and the teenage mom then took their babys body to the Estacada park in a soft-side maroon bag, investigators said.

Dr. Christopher Young confirmed that the infants body was taken to the Oregon State Medical Examiners Office for an autopsy Dec. 10, but he said that he could not release anymore information due to the ongoing investigation. According to police, cause of death remains undetermined pending further investigation.